Several vitamin deficiencies are known to produce behavior and functional abnormalities suggesting alterations in nervous system operation. Although these deficiencies are known to affect the activity of specific enzymes, almost without exception the molecular basis of the change in function at the organismic level is not yet understood. Considering the central role played by the cell membrane and of membrane localized processes in the normal operation of the nervous system, there is a reasonable expectation that modification of membrane function may be involved in the expression of some deficiency induced behavioral changes. This is especially true for vitamins such as biotin and pantothenic acid which are directly involved in the synthesis of membrane lipid components. As yet, relatively little information is available concerning the effects of nutritional deficiencies on membrane composition and the activity of membrane-localized processes such as permeability and the active transport of neurally important substances. The purpose of this project is to carry out exploratory studies using cultured cells derived from the nervous system to determine whether growth in the presence of suboptimal amounts of various B vitamins produces changes in membrane composition and function that can be related to the behavioral changes associated with deficiences of these nutrients. It is hoped that information of this nature will allow development of more effective treatment and possibly reversal of human vitamin deficiency associated behavioral abnormalities.